A/N: This has taken me way too long and I apologise to anybody who cared enough to want to read the ending to this. A couple of notes:
1. I kept the details on the fighting vague because I am not going to go there with the politics of different countries. Also that was not the point.
2. This will be the end of the Blood of Valyria series
Jon already sat at the breakfast table when Arya came down the stairs in the morning. Aegon charged in a little in front of her and she saw Jon throw him a piece of fruit. He caught it easily and Arya took the seat beside Jon. She eyed the fruit in the bowl on the table.
"Are you still feeling sick little sister?" Jon asked.
Arya shook her head and reached for the fruit. She shouted out in mock offence when Jon messed up her hair but she accepted his kiss. She took a big bite of a pear.
"The sickness is gone" she told him as she chewed.
Jon smiled at her but his dark eyes looked serious. "That is good to hear."
She looked over at Aegon. He was staring out the window and brooding. When she glanced back to Jon she saw him watching his brother.
"Have you been teasing him again about the baby not looking like him?"
Arya shook her head. "She might not though so it isn't really teasing," she protested. "You look like me."
Jon went quiet and the resemblance between the brothers became stronger. They both look the same when they are unhappy.
"Aegon said he will help us" she said quickly. "I asked him last night and-"
"I do not need to know the details," Jon said quickly. He wore that pained look which told Arya he already had some idea of how she had gained Aegon's acceptance of the idea.
He still likes to think of me as a little girl.
Arya took another bite of her pear and rested her head on his shoulder.
"You are as bad as Aegon."
Aegon spun around to frown at her and she felt Jon tense and knew him to be wearing a similar expression.
"We want to keep both of you safe."
Arya lifted her head from Jon's shoulder.
"I will be safe stupid. I can look after myself and I have both of you."
Jon sighed but Aegon finally gave Arya a grin. "That is true." He came and dropped into a chair at the table, reaching out for her hand. "We won't be letting you out of our sight."
Now it was Arya's turn to scowl.
Arya landed back in Valyria unsteadily. Dany held onto her tightly, looking pale and Aerys bellowed in the distance. Even from inside the palace Arya could hear he was angry. Rhaegar greeted them first, his dark purple eyes looking even sadder than usual.
"You best come with me."
Arya did not argue this time. She felt too unsteady and she looked over her shoulder hoping for a glimpse of Jon and Aegon. They will be alright. Rhaegar took long strides and Rhaella greeted them, a cup in her hand. She held it out to Arya.
"Drink," she said softly.
Arya took it with her good arm, drinking it down quickly. The ambrosia did its job. She watched the wound heal and heard Viserys' sharp tone.
"You foolish girl, what did you expect?"
Arya glared at him. "It had to be done."
She heard Dany give a sharp cry and spun around to see Aegon bringing Jon with him. She ran to them, her fear rising when she saw Jon bleeding. We might be immortal now but we are not like the Valyrians. Jon gave her a weak smile and stumbled as Arya lifted the cup for him to drink.
"We did not get clear in time," Aegon explained.
Arya checked Aegon over but he gently caught her hands and eyed her with a worried expression. Blood still trickled from Jon's head but Arya saw no wounds. The ambrosia has worked. She pulled away from Aegon and embraced Jon and he returned the gesture, growing steadier by the moment.
"I did not think it would be like this," Arya admitted just as the door to the palace slammed shut.
"It is war mortal." Aerys sounded lucid but angry. "This is what comes of war. They will oppose us as they did in the uprisings."
"They will not." Rhaegar stood with his eyes closed and Arya wondered what he saw. "It is prophesied."
Aerys began to shout about Rhaegar being mad. Bloodraven intervened. Arya did not realise he was even there until he spoke.
"Rhaegar speaks the truth. The war was foretold. It was inevitable."
Arya wanted to hurt him. "Why did you not warn us?"
Bloodraven laughed at her. "It is better not to know of the future. You have been insufferable enough in your determination." He softened the words with a smile. "It had to get worse before it could become better."
Arya bit her lip. "Will they ever stop killing one another?"
"Yes," Bloodraven's voice lowered to a whisper. "You will all be remembered for it."
They had been fighting and appealing for months to end the war. Arya kept her own efforts up until she could no longer take part. She cried out as Aegon held onto her hand. He grimaced.
"You need to breathe."
Arya gritted her teeth. "I know that stupid, it still hurts. How much longer will it be?"
Elia smiled at her gently and wiped her forehead with a cloth. "It will be some time yet. The first always takes the longest."
Arya tried to breathe like they said. It didn't help much. The contractions felt as though they might tear her in two.
"I hate you," she told Aegon. "This is your fault."
He laughed though he still looked suitably guilty. His expression became concerned.
"Is she meant to suffer this much?"
Elia smiled at him. "All women suffer in labour. I suffered to birth you." She reached out across the bed to push his hair back from his eyes. "It is worth it."
Aegon did not look convinced. Arya did not feel convinced.
"I need Jon," she whispered. "Where is he?"
Elia looked strained. "We tried to get a message to him but he is with Daenerys. They are trying once again to end the war."
Arya knew it was important. She knew the bombing had to be stopped but for one moment she wanted to indulge in her own selfish desires. She wanted Jon by her side.
"I need him."
She did not manage to keep the fear from her voice and the pain felt worse when it hit. She clutched Aegon's hand. He began to look frightened.
"Jon's mother died."
Arya looked to Elia and saw her mouth tighten. She does not like to be reminded of Aunt Lyanna. Arya did not need to be reminded of her Aunt just then either. Elia touched Arya's arm and gave her a kind smile even though it looked a struggle.
"Brynden told Aegon you will suffer no harm."
Aegon looked hopeful and Arya tried to cling to that. Bloodraven can see what will happen. She just had to hope he told the whole truth and not just part of it. He said I will have a daughter. Arya just had to pray that she would survive to see her.
Hours passed and she became more and more worn out. Just when she thought she could not go on Elia told her it was near the end. Aegon looked pale and worried still as Arya pushed and they both held their breath when Elia held the new baby. Silence fell only to be interrupted by the arrival of Dany and Jon.
"It is over," Dany proclaimed.
Jon abandoned her and rushed to Arya's side. She reached out to him just as the baby gave a soft little cry. Arya breathed an exhausted sigh of relief. She just wanted to close her eyes.
"How?" Elia asked.
Arya felt Jon clasp her hand. Aegon had left, moving to his mother's side to see the baby. Jon looked worried and Arya knew it looked bad.
"Dany showed the people," he said quickly. "She found a way to let them see the results of the continued war. She gave them a vision to show that in the end everybody loses."
Arya nodded. A cup was brought to her lips but she felt too tired to drink. She closed her eyes.
"I want to see my daughter."
Jon's voice sounded further away. "Arya, Arya don't sleep."
She choked on liquid and swallowed. The room came back into focus and she saw Aegon holding the cup.
"I'm just tired stupid," she told him when she saw his stricken face.
He kissed her forehead.
"Stay awake now. It is not just me who needs you."-
They all gathered around as Arya sat and Elia placed the baby in her arms. She is so tiny. She looked at Aegon and Jon then Dany and Elia.
"We were all wrong. She does not look like any of us."
The infant bore tufts of reddish hair, a shade lighter than that of Arya's mother and sister. Remembering them brought tears to Arya's eyes and she held her daughter closer.
"She is beautiful."
Aegon reached out to touch the baby and she gave a little cry. He pulled his hand back uncertainly and Elia laughed.
"Don't be frightened," she told him. "She is not old enough to be telling you off yet."
Aegon reached out again and touched the infant gently. He smiled at Arya.
"She will take after you," he said confidently. "I won't win any arguments now."
"You weren't winning any before," Arya retorted back.
She wanted to join in the smiles and celebrations but she worried even more looking upon her daughter.
"I failed to make them see. I could not end it. Are you sure if is over?"
"They were not ready until now," Dany assured her. "Your efforts were not in vain."
Arya shifted the baby slightly in her arms. "I want it to be better for her."
"It will be better," Jon promised. "We will still be needed but it is already better."
Elia cleared her throat. "Have you thought of a name?"
Arya nodded and closed her eyes. "Her name will be Alysanne."
Alysanne grew up hearing Aegon sing. It was a gift of his. He sang of bravery and gallantry, of heroes and romance. Arya wanted to tell him not to fill her head with fairytales but it did no harm, not truly. It was better than the stories Arya had to tell. Her family helped to mend that though she never forgot. Alysanne had too much of her mother and Sansa and Arya's sons were both a sweet and painful reminder of her lost brothers.
She left it to Jon to help her tell them of those long gone. They liked to hear the stories. They would ask their uncle Jon to repeat them over and over and he always indulged them. He sees our family in them too. Alysanne always made him smile though. She often returned to the castle with her gown torn and a bunch of flowers clutched in her little hand.
"She is like you," Jon informed Arya.
"I was not quite as fond of fairytales," Arya replied.
On Earth other tales were spreading, turning from truth, to myth, to legend. The people spoke of the Valyrian goddess Daenerys and her gift of sight and prophecy. They told of the half mortal Jon who fought by her side, whispered half truths of his parentage morphing into exaggerations and romantic songs and poems.
The favourite tale of all however was that of the valyrian god Aegon who became so infatuated with a mortal that he came to Earth and took her back to the immortal kingdom. The early tales were confused, speaking of a woman who fell under a spell and fought to return to Earth, realising her error when people began to turn on one another.
The stories changed with visions of a girl with deep blue eyes, almost but not quite purple and hair which shone red in the light and became auburn when she moved.
"You speak of my mother," she said in a voice which sounded almost like music. "My father loved her so much he gave her the choice and she chose him. She watches, they both do and she wants you to know the truth."
She sang a song, a song of Arya. Most did not believe until one by one the same story was told and the song became well known. Everybody knew of the mortal who chose to live in Valyria with the brother she loved and the god who won her heart by giving her the choice. The legend of the Valyrians spoke not just of the gods and their powers but of the mortal woman who convinced them to intervene and save the people from themselves.
Hundreds of years later people still claimed to see her. They were always chance sightings, appearances in places where no one might go. They reported a dark haired woman running and laughing while her silver haired lover chased her. Sometimes there were children with them but most times it was just the two of them. The woman always smiled and spoke to whoever came close.
And then she and her lover disappeared... until next time.
Naming the baby was tricky. I went with a Targ name used in Westeros which appeared in the North and (to me) seemed to fit best. I am TERRIBLE with making up names and did not want to go down the naming after a dead family member route
I will be writing more AUs with time. I have one in the works right now but I keep having to delay it to write chapters for the Many Faced God Must Have His Due. I think it will be fun though.